Agusta musters a blast from the past

Dusting off two decades, an Italian motorcycle legend is producing a four-cylinder instant classic. It would cost $50,000-plus - if you could get one. JOHN CAREY reports.

Agusta musters a blast from the past

27 May 1999

Grand brand revivals aren't restricted to the car industry. First it was MG - now MV, one of the most exotic of Italian motorcycle makers, is back in business after a 20-year break.

MV Agusta has begun production of a brand new four-cylinder sports bike, and it's headed for Australia. The 750 cc F4 Serie Oro (Gold Series) is a lightweight limited edition. Only 300 will be built, and only a handful of that number are earmarked for Australian customers.

But after the Serie Oro, MV Agusta will begin production of a less expensive - and slightly heavier - version called the F4S.

It will have the same high-revving, high-power engine as the more expensive model, and is scheduled to go on sale in Australia around August.

The bike was designed by Massimo Tamburini - not exactly a household name, but revered by the motor- cycling cognoscenti as the designer of the Ducati 916, presently the most desirable bike made in Italy.

As does Tamburini, the name MV Agusta oozes cred. Meccanica Verghera Agusta is named after the brand's town of origin and its founder, a nobleman and successful helicopter manufacturer.

As did Ducati, MV Agusta began by building tiny motorcycles to fulfill a need for cheap transport in post-WWII Italy. But the company's lasting fame derives from its racing motorcycles. Every year from 1958 to 1974 MV Agusta bikes won the 500 cc world championship. Such legends as Mike Hailwood, John Surtees and Phil Read rode them and won.

But Giacomo Agostini is the racer whose name most strongly associated with the brand. "Ago", the Mick Doohan of his day, was practically invincible on the four-cylinder bikes from Verghera.

MV Agusta produced four-cylinder road bikes in small numbers until 1979. These rare, exotic machines fetch astonishing prices. A fine example will fetch $50,000. The price of the F4 Serie Oro will likely be higher - but that is irrelevant. Every one of Australia's Serie Oros is spoken for.

Italy isn't the only country reviving its revered motorcycle brands.

Other attempts are being staged in Britain and America. Norton, which has produced fewer than 1,000 bikes in the past 20 years (all with rotary engines), is planning a comeback. New owner Norton Motors International has grand plans for a seven-model line-up.

It has displayed a prototype of a 1.5-litre V8 bike named the Nemesis, whose advanced technical features include push-button gear-shifting. A smaller four-cylinder bike is also planned, as is an enormous Harley-Davidson-style V-twin. Whether the company can turn blueprints into bikes, according to timetable, is debatable.

Ownership of the name Indian, the other US motorcycle brand, is the subject of a complex legal tangle. One protagonist has built and displayed a convincing prototype, but a court has awarded use of the name to a company which sticks it on an obvious Harley clone. The decision is reportedly being contested.

Once again, Ago!

Giacomo Agostini - simply "Ago" to motorcycle racing enthusiasts - won 13 of his 15 world championships on MV Agustas. He scored a high proportion of the brand's 270 grand prix victories stretching from the '50s to the '70s. He pulled on leathers again to test ride the new F4 Serie Oro.